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| Henry W.V. Holmes' tombstone in Adelaide's West Terrace Cemetery Open picture in new window to enlarge. |
When I was in Australia a while back, I disembarked from the train at Adelaide's Keswick Station for a brief tour about town. Next to the train station is the opulent West Terrace Cemetery.
While there, I saw this particular tombstone, and I don't know what struck me more: That Henry Holmes died at about the same age as I am, that he died riding in a local horse race (a hurdle race, at that), that his tombstone was in danger of falling over,
(On the side of the tombstone is even something more somber: the birth and death dates of two Holmes children who died in infancy. What a tragic family.)
But Henry's ghost can take solace in the fact that he's remembered a century later -- his marker is at the front of the cemetery and can be seen easily from the nearby sidewalk.
No word on Kanmantoo's fate.
6 comments:
Henry Holmes was my great great grandfather. His wife left Adelaide and moved to the country. She was a cook on a sheep station then went on to marry the owner and became Elizabeth House.
Henry had won the Oakbank steeple chase 3 times and was headed for his 4th victory when he lost his life,
Hi John,
Tonight I asked my mum about her great great grandfather, Henry Holmes and came across your post when searching on the net. Firstly, thank you so much for taking a photo and posting about him and his tombstone. I am now going to take my mum to see the tombstone tomorrow. Mum has a couple of books which mentions the Oakbank race and Henry's death.
HELLO TO THE PERSON WHO POSTED MESSAGE 23 DEC 2020. You would be my mum's cousin. Would love to connect so as to learn more about you, Henry and Holmes family. My mum, Jeannette, is daughter to Lillian Holmes.
Thanks kindly.
Dianna Buckland
I made an error in my comment dated April 24. I mentioned that Henry Holmes was my mother's great great grandfather. That's incorrect. He was my mum's great grandfather.
I took mum to see the tombstone today. We cleared some weeds away from the site. I further researched the family.
Henry and Elizabeth Holmes had 5 children. Henry (1896-1970), Elizabeth aka Queenie (1897-1980), Olive (1899-1899), Adelaide aka Doll (1900-1980's), George 1910-1911). Sadly, George passed away 4 days after his father tragically died due to the steeple chase horse race.
I remember Auntie Queenie and Auntie Doll when I was young.
I would love to track the family further; so, if any family members come across this blog, please make contact.
Thank you.
Dianna Buckland
I forgot to add:
Henry Holmes' wife, Elizabeth (1876-1925), surname 'Holmes' was spelt correctly on the tombstone. The lettering on the tombstone is metal and the letter 's' has fallen away from the stone.
Same with infant Olive's lettering, 's' in 'Holmes' and the year she died 1899, '99' has fallen away.
The tombstone is still on a lean and I hope to be able to raise the funds one day so as to straighten the tombstone and repair the cement settings around the steel fencing around the site.
Dianna Buckland
Hi Dianna,
Henry was my great great grandfather. I do have some information on the family if you are interested.
Tina
You can read the article at this link
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/88683871?searchTerm=Holmes%20oak%20bank%20kanmantoo
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